


Affinity with Dolphins

by Twilight Fang (Asthenos)



Category: Invasion (TV)
Genre: Adventure, M/M, Romance, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 12:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8055754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asthenos/pseuds/Twilight%20Fang
Summary: Russell is determined to figure out why Tom seems to have an adverse reaction whenever the subject of dolphins is brought up, so he deceptively takes him to Marineland for some answers.





	Affinity with Dolphins

**Author's Note:**

> This is kind of a more serious part 2 to the fic "Winner takes all" but can be read as a standalone story.

Russell didn’t know why Tom had an aversion to certain types of marine life. As the sheriff of Homestead, Tom was often required to patrol around the docks and along the outskirts of the Glades. It was impossible for him not to come into contact with the occasional fish, turtle, or frog. And, depending on the weather and a little bit of luck, he occasionally happened across a West Indian Manatee, which made the other visitors to the Glades envious. Tom didn’t seem to have any problem with those creatures, even going out of his way to move turtles off of the road or scoop up beached fish, returning them to their proper swimming grounds. But as soon as someone brought up dolphins, Tom got all defensive.

 

Dolphins just weren’t as cute as the manatees or as pretty as the colorful fish, according to Russell’s analyzation of Tom’s behavior - not in Tom’s actual words. Because Tom would never call a manatee cute or a fish pretty. He would instead concentrate on the peaceful nature of the manatee, or the adaptive qualities of a school of fish. Russell was aware of the fact that Tom was uncomfortable expressing his emotions, especially when it came to things that lived in the water. He’d been dating Tom long enough to know that the subject of dolphins was off limits, for a reason that only Tom himself could define.

 

Did Tom hate dolphins, as bizarre as that might be for normal people to comprehend? Was he afraid of them? Was it related to a traumatic childhood event? Russell had absolutely no idea. And it was the not knowing that had triggered his curiosity.

 

A whole week had gone by without Russell mentioning dolphins, deceiving Tom into thinking that he’d dropped the subject. But if Tom truly believed that he was going to get away from the dolphins without a mature explanation, he still didn’t know Russell very well. Russell never dropped anything, whether it be an argument or a mystery. He was going to get to the bottom of this dolphin-phobia, with or without Tom’s cooperation.

 

So, Russell had surprised Tom by renting a small trailer under the pretense of taking him on a road trip to do some kayaking. A little while ago Tom had expressed an interest in either going canoeing or kayaking, as well as camping out under the stars. Russell was the outdoorsman in the relationship, so he had taken the liberty of printing out some bogus tickets for a two-day kayaking trip. Canoeing would’ve worked just as well, but he had had trouble cropping the picture of the canoe that he’d downloaded from the Internet. Tom knew nothing about kayaks or areas that were ideal for camping, so it had been a piece of cake convincing him that there was a rental kayak and tour guide waiting for them at Kayak-A-Way – the fake company that Russell had hastily made up. Anyway, it didn’t matter how unprofessional his tickets looked because Tom was gullible as hell. A gullible Tom was a super adorable Tom, so Russell didn’t feel one bit guilty as he loaded up the trailer and set out to find some dolphins.

 

Russell felt giddy as he flew down the highway with Tom seated comfortably beside him. The sky was a clear brilliant blue, the temperature was reasonably warm, and Tom looked really attractive in a simple pair of beige cargo pants and a white t-shirt. Tom rarely wore shorts, leading Russell to believe that he was self-conscious about his legs – as sexy as they were, which was a strange thing for a guy to worry about. But Russell loved Tom and all his idiosyncrasies so he couldn’t have cared less if Tom had left the house naked or in his pajamas.

 

“Is the air conditioning high enough?” Russell asked, fiddling with the dial.

 

“It’s fine, Russ,” Tom absently replied, squinting out the windshield in an attempt to make out the road signs. His blue eyes were sensitive to the light and he had forgotten his sunglasses, but that didn’t make him any less astute.

 

There was one thing that Russell had forgotten to take into account on this road trip – Tom had a particularly keen sense of direction and his geographical knowledge was unparalleled. The hybrid knew in what direction they were headed, what highway they were on, and could even estimate the speed at which they were traveling.

 

A few minutes after Russell had exited the highway and made a left, he discovered just how closely Tom had been paying attention.

 

“Russ, I think that you meant to take a right at the last intersection, not a left,” Tom calmly informed his lover. Tom looked like he was barely able to contain his excitement, taking the fake tickets off of the dashboard to look at the mini map that Russell had inserted for good measure.

 

“Oh, shit! I think you’re right.” Russell made a grand show of making a U-turn and started to head in the opposite direction – away from the dolphins. This was not going to work. No, if he wanted this to work, he needed to play dirty.

 

“Russ, do we need something from Wal-Mart?” Tom asked as Russell steered the trailer into the parking lot of a big shopping mall, which was deserted this early in the morning, and took up a spot intended for large vehicles, as far away from the building as he could get.

 

“No, but I need to stretch my legs.” Abandoning his post at the steering wheel, Russell set up a sunshade over the front windshield, blocking out the view of Wal-Mart, and disappeared into the back of the trailer. “Tom, honey, can you come back here and give me a hand with this?”

 

There was the sound of Tom unclasping his seatbelt and then the hybrid quickly joined Russell in the back. Tom was so eager to learn the ropes of roughing it that he didn’t suspect a thing. Not even when Russell leaned back against the small countertop that outlined the kitchen area and gazed at him expectantly.

 

“What do you need help with, Russ?”

 

Poor Tom looked so desperate to make himself useful in order to help him that Russell felt bad, but only for a second. Russell beckoned Tom closer, drawing the hybrid to him when he stepped into the trap that had been set. He wrapped both arms around Tom’s waist, held him still, and pointedly ground their hips together. “I think that’s kind of obvious, don’t you?”

 

No matter how many times they made love, Tom never failed to blush and nervously fidget during the foreplay, which was fine by Russell because he enjoyed unnerving his hybrid. But this time Tom was distracted, ignoring Russell’s erection in favor of his desire to go kayaking. “Won’t we be late? We can do _this_ later, and perhaps in a more tactful location than the parking lot of a Wal-Mart.” Nearly losing his arousal over Tom’s feigned indifference, Russell fought to regain control of the situation.

 

“We have plenty of time. It isn’t even rush hour yet. Come on, strip down,” Russell ordered, stroking his hands up and down Tom’s lean frame.

 

“I’m not really in the mood…,” Tom murmured, still bothered about punctuality and being interrupted by Wal-Mart shoppers.

 

“Well, I am. And this is supposed to be a mutually beneficial relationship.” Russell switched places with Tom so that now the hybrid was the one with his back to the counter, placed both hands on those narrow hips, and lifted Tom up onto it. There was no way he could miss the sudden flare of passion that lit up those deep blue eyes, or the way Tom sharply inhaled. “Are you in the mood now?” He leaned in to kiss Tom, nudging the hybrid’s legs apart so that he could rest suggestively between them. There was no need to insist on an answer because the way Tom gave into the kiss, pulling Russell closer and rubbing against him was more than sufficient.

 

Although Russell knew that he was being an asshole, he made sure that he scattered Tom’s clothing all over the back of the trailer, making them difficult to find. And when he took Tom over the counter from behind, he did so in such a way that his lover would not be capable of getting up anytime soon, never mind returning to the front passenger’s seat to pester Russell while he was driving. Most importantly, Russell took his time in pleasuring them both, wringing the most heated moans and cries of ecstasy from Tom… before leaving his hybrid completely exhausted and naked on the sheets of the twin bed that they would be sharing later on tonight. That would teach Tom to stop being a backseat driver.

 

Satisfied that there would be no more course corrections along the way, Russell returned to the front of the trailer, removed the sun blind, and headed directly for Marineland.

 

* * *

 

 

About an hour and a half later, the trailer stopped and the engine shut off, alerting Tom that it was time to get redressed. He did so under the close, perverted scrutiny of Russell, who appreciated the view when Tom bent over to pick up his pants from where they had been dropped.

 

“Are you ever going to get tired of your voyeuristic tendencies?” Tom lightly teased, in quite a good mood after their intense bout of lovemaking.

 

“Nope. You’d better just get used to it. I like to watch you,” Russell said with a smirk.

 

“So I’ve noticed.”

 

Once Tom was decent again, Russell opened the trailer door and motioned for his lover to venture outside. He didn’t have to wait long for Tom’s completely predictable reaction.

 

“ _Marineland_?! Russ, you did this on purpose!”

 

Russell blocked the trailer door on his way out, preventing Tom from rushing back inside to barricade himself in. “Sorry, but we’re not going kayaking. I think that you would enjoy meeting some friendly dolphins more than you would tipping over a kayak and falling into the river.”

 

“I told you that I have nothing in common with a dolphin,” Tom protested, his annoyance levels escalating when Russell locked the trailer door and pocketed the keys.

 

Russell caught Tom by the arms when he tried to make a run for it. Tom would never just run off and leave him, he was pretty damn confident that his hybrid would come back no matter what. But if he lost Tom to the throngs of the crowd, he knew that he wouldn’t see him again until closing time. Tom had a habit of vanishing when he was pissed off, choosing to punish Russell by making himself scarce as opposed to getting into an argument with him. Mainly because Tom never came out on top, even when he was in the right.

 

“It’s just for a couple of hours and then we’ll go camping,” Russell said, trying to convince Tom not to bolt. “I don’t know what your problem with dolphins is, but I guarantee you that they won’t try to bite or eat you. So there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

 

Tom looked at Russell as if he were a total moron. “First of all, I am _not_ afraid of dolphins. Second, dolphins are perfectly capable of biting if provoked.”

 

“So then there’s nothing to worry about.” Russell patted Tom on his blond head and ushered him forward. “Today is all about dolphins. Learning about dolphins. Taking pictures with dolphins. And swimming with dolphins.”

 

“I absolutely refuse to get in that fish tank, Russ. I’m serious. If you try to push me in, I’m going to give you not one – but two – black eyes.”

 

Russell laughed and leveled his most patronizing gaze on his lover. “I’d like to see you try to pull that off _after_ I’ve thrown you into the tank.” Of course he was only joking, because that kind of guest interaction with the dolphins was strictly prohibited. The only people allowed in the swimming pool were the dolphin trainers, so Tom really didn’t have to worry about Russell’s empty threat.

 

* * *

 

The informative tour on dolphins not only tested Tom’s patience, but also managed to make Russell incredibly sleepy. Okay, so maybe following the tour guide had been a bad idea. And Russell was a park ranger so everything that the tour guide enthusiastically blabbed on about was nothing new to him. He already knew everything there was to know about dolphins, including their Cetacean cousins, their ability to use echolocation to detect the size, shape and distance of faraway objects, and how they were passionate about mating. Well, Russell was passionate about mating too, with Tom. So at least they had one thing in common. The rest was boring stuff.

 

When they finally did get up close and personal with the dolphins, Tom held back, making absolutely no effort to approach the edge of the pool that was crowded with onlookers of all ages. Some kids were petting the dolphins while their parents snapped pictures with their mobile phones, and others were dangling keys and other objects high in the air, trying to get the dolphins to jump out of the water.

 

Russell watched Tom eyeing a rowdy dolphin that had strayed from the rest of the school. Even though Tom was a few paces back from the edge of the pool, he seemed to have attracted the attention of the restless dolphin for it charged the barrier, rose out of the water, and splashed the hybrid in the face.

 

 _Shit! That can’t be good_ , Russell thought to himself, rushing over to protect the dolphin should Tom decide to retaliate. But there was no malice in Tom’s blue eyes as he cautiously neared the pool and lay the palm of his hand on the dolphin’s wet beak. The dolphin made a peculiar, high pitched sound, causing two of Marineland’s dolphin trainers to exchange a bewildered look with each other. When the dolphin swam even closer to the edge of the pool, using its front flippers to raise its head above the surface of the water, Tom became quite the spectacle. As soon as the hybrid leaned over the railing separating the spectators from the pool area, and rested his cheek on the squeaking dolphin’s back, just in front of its dorsal fin, the rest of the dolphins broke formation and propelled themselves in Tom’s direction. By the time Russell was able to push through the crowd to get to his lover’s side, Tom was the only thing that the dolphins seemed to be interested in. They swam up to him, one by one, squeaking and making shrill chirping noises, becoming more worked up when Tom touched them or rubbed his face against them.

 

Was this why Tom hadn’t wanted to visit the dolphins? Were they so close in physiology that they were able to understand each other? Russell could understand why seeing the dolphins trapped in a tiny swimming pool might be upsetting for the hybrid. It might even bring back painful memories of the hybrids that the military had taken for experimentation purposes.

 

“Tom?” Russell carefully touched his lover’s shoulder, mindful of the jealous and suspicious looks that Tom was attracting with his dolphin bonding performance.

 

Tom looked up at Russell, his eyes sparkling with delight as he hugged the next dolphin in line. “I can understand them, Russ!”

 

Russell smiled affectionately at Tom, overjoyed to see his lover looking so at peace and happy. Wanting to save the memory of how cute Tom looked with the dolphins, Russell took out his digital camera and snapped off a few pictures.

 

Unfortunately, all cute things weren’t meant to last because one of the Marineland dolphin trainers quickly approached Tom with a stern expression, bringing a whistle to his lips. He blew it, ordering the dolphins to disperse and then spoke gruffly to Tom. “What did you do to get them all worked up? Did you feed them something?”

 

Before Tom could answer, one of the dolphins slapped its tail against the surface of the water, soaking the dolphin trainer. The next dolphin in line jumped up, catching Tom’s wrist in its mouth, and pulled the hybrid over the railing and into the water.

 

“TOM!” Russell shouted, automatically climbing the railing to dive in after his lover. But he was held back by the angry dolphin trainer.

 

“I think it’s time you two assholes left,” the trainer ordered, having missed the way that the dolphin had tugged Tom down into the depths of the pool with it.

 

Russell frantically searched the water for any signs of Tom, feeling immediately relieved and anxious when he saw the hybrid swimming gracefully amidst the school of dolphins in the center of the pool. He was now moving of his own free will, no longer being guided by the dolphin. And his movements were just as powerful, and as harmonious, as that of the Cetaceans surrounding him. But if he didn’t come up for air soon, the staff members would report him for messing with their main attraction. Or make some phone calls to the wrong kinds of people if they realized just how long Tom could stay underwater without needing to come up for oxygen.

 

“Your sign says that we can pet the dolphins,” Russell argued loudly, hoping to draw everyone’s attention away from Tom’s underwater mermaid act. “If you’re not going to let us pet the dolphins, you’d better be prepared to refund us our money!”

 

“Mommy, is that man a dolphin, too?” A little girl asked from across the pool.

 

“Yeah, you can _pet_ the dolphins, but you can’t _swim_ with them!!” The dolphin trainer argued back.

 

 _Damn it! Tom, get your ass out of there!_ Russell flung his dolphin brochure at the three additional dolphin trainers that came to escort him out of Marineland. “You’d better get your manager out here before I file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau!” Thankfully everyone was looking at him now because humans liked drama, but someone in the audience was bound to have noticed that Tom hadn’t surfaced for air in over six minutes. Maybe he should have listened to Tom and steered clear of the dolphins. “And that railing is too damn low if people can just fall over it!”

 

“He didn’t just _fall_ over it! Are you trying to accuse us of negligence?”

 

“Are you trying to accuse my partner of intentionally jumping into a pool full of wild animals?!”

 

Just when the park staff were on the verge of physically removing Russell from the premises, one of the dolphins flipped out of the water with Tom on its back and holding onto its dorsal fin. It raced over to where Russell was waiting and held still, allowing Russell to wrap both arms around Tom’s waist and hoist him back over the bar. The second Tom was safely on the ground again, the dolphins began to sail out of the water, their tail fins flapping back and forth, as if waving goodbye. The crowd, including the park staff, were so entranced by their performance that nobody noticed Russell dragging Tom hastily towards the exit.

 

“You could have told me that you were going to do that,” Russell muttered as he kept his arm around his soaking wet hybrid, who was remorsefully looking back over his shoulder at the dolphins. “Tom, are you okay?”

 

“Sure, Russ…”

 

But Tom was not even listening because he was still spiritually linked to the dolphins, which really worried Russell. He had some crazed idea about Tom taking to the ocean to swim off with a school of dolphins, leaving him behind and never coming back.

 

“Well, you obviously don’t hate the dolphins, and you’re not scared of them, so do you want to tell me what you had against them?” Russell opened up the trailer and followed Tom inside, trying to keep his mind on the topic at hand when his lover casually discarded every article of soaking wet clothing onto the floor and sat down on the bed. Well, thankfully the blinds were closed so Russell was the only one who got to enjoy the view. “Tom?”

 

“I resented them, Russ,” Tom said with a sigh.

 

“You resented the dolphins?” Russell found that hard to believe. “Why would you resent them?”

 

“Because I couldn’t understand why any creature would enjoy being caged up like that. Especially creatures as intelligent as dolphins.”

 

“And now you don’t resent them…?” Russell sat down beside Tom and wrapped an arm around him when he shivered.

 

“No. Not anymore.”

 

“Do I have to keep asking you questions or are you going to explain without being prompted?” Russell pulled up one of the sheets and used it to dry Tom off, listening to the hybrid as he sorrowfully relayed the dolphins’ plight.

 

“They said that they like humans and enjoy the interaction, but would do anything to be able to swim freely in the oceans again. They lack sufficient stimuli and feel complete and utter boredom during the hours they are left alone in their tiny tank. They said that they envy my freedom and requested that I take them with me. They have nobody else to talk to that can understand them like I can.”

 

“They spoke to you?” Russell asked with just a touch of skepticism.

 

“Not so much. It was more a transference of thoughts, emotions, and images.” Tom smiled at Russell and patted his leg. “Thanks for taking me to Marineland, Russ. You were right. I did enjoy the friendly dolphins more than I would’ve enjoyed a kayaking trip.”

 

“You don’t have to do that for me, Tom,” Russell sighed.

 

“Do what?”

 

“Pretend that you’re not upset over the dolphins. Because I’m pretty upset over what you just told me. But not to worry, because I have something special planned for tonight.”

 

“Oh? What’s that?”

 

“You do know that my criminal record includes breaking and entering, right? How do you feel about a late evening swim with the dolphins?”

 

“That sounds like a very appealing idea for a date. Are you going to join me this time?” Tom didn’t even try to talk Russell out of it. He was too intent on spending time with his new dolphin friends.

 

“Well, you know what an awesome swimmer I am, so definitely yes. And maybe we can work in a small protest for the dolphins next month…”

 

“You understand me so well,” Tom said with a grin and pulled Russell down onto the bed to display just how much he appreciated having such a generous lover.


End file.
